The Best Jazz on Bandcamp: September 2021
"..the shimmery harmonies and flowing cadences hold those thick, captivating melodies in an entirely different light.." Dave Sumner
daily.bandcamp.com/best-jazz/the-best-jazz-on-bandcamp-september-2021
Review Songlines UK Russell Higham (4/5 stars):
" Traditional Sephardic influences are in evidence on ‘Arah’ while the album’s cinematic sounding title-track is evocative of a shisha-smoke filled nightclub in Cairo. At just over half an hour of such enjoyably fascinating material, we can only hope their next album is a little longer. "
www.songlines.co.uk/review/chants
Review
Jazz.pt Rui Eduardo Paes (4/5 stars):
'' O jazz sefardita dos Al-jiçç ficou mais atmosférico e cinematográfico, talvez por isso adoptando uma dimensão evocativa e melancólica que antes não tinha, e também algo mais abstracto e geométrico. ''
www.jazz.pt/ponto-escuta/2021/09/06/al-jicc-chants-edicao-de-autor/
Disque de la semaine du Grigri
" À l’image de sa pochette très réussie, Chants propose une musique ondulée et cinématographique. Une musique gorgée de pleins et de déliés où la mélodie et le silence ne se marchent pas sur les pieds. "
www.le-grigri.com/disques/2021/10/18/al-jicc-chants-portugal-nuno-damiao
Review
Jazzquad.ru Leonid Auskern
" Dynamics, beauty, elegance, eroticism - everything is here, and all this, to varying degrees, can be found in music"
jazzquad.ru/index.pl?act=PRODUCT&id=6035
‘Chants’ is Al-jiçç's fifth album and represents an aesthetic evolution of the band. It was composed and produced during the pandemic, with the musicians individually recording their parts.
The music started with six little themes composed on a electric piano, which served as a harmonic basis for the improvisations. These improvisations were edited and manipulated, with the mixing and post-production playing a fundamental role in the construction of the record.
Keeping the Mediterranean-inspired melodies as a brand, in 'Chants' these were fused in a universe influenced by Miles Davis' electric phase (in 'Route'), by Dub (in 'Zadar') or the more ambient electronics ( in 'Lost Sign').
This record represents a new direction for Al-Jiçç, using the melodic side as a starting point for more electronic and contemporary universes.
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‘Chants’ é o quinto disco de Al-jiçç e representa uma evolução estética da banda. Foi composto e produzido durante a fase da pandemia, com os músicos a gravarem individualmente as suas partes.
A música partiu de seis temas compostos em piano, que serviram de base harmónica para as improvisações. Estas improvisações foram editadas e manipuladas, tendo a fase da mistura e pós-produção um papel fundamental na construção do disco.
Mantendo as melodias de inspiração Mediterrânica como marca, em ‘Chants’ estas foram fundidas num universo influenciado pela fase elétrica de Miles Davis com Teo Macero (em ‘Route’), pelo Dub Jamaicano ( em ‘Zadar’) ou a electrónica mais ambiental ( em ‘Lost Sign’).
Este disco representa uma nova fase de Al-Jiçç, utilizando o lado melódico como ponto de partida para universos mais electrónicos e contemporâneos.
released September 3, 2021
Nuno Damião - guitar, keyboards and percussion
Gonçalo Lopes - clarinet and bass clarinet
Ricardo A. Freitas - electric bass
Jorge Lopes Trigo - percussion
All songs written by Nuno Damião
Recorded and mixed by Nuno Damião from September 2020 to January 2021.
Mastered by João P. Miranda at Attack-Release Studio
Design by Miguel Horta Pardal
Produced by Nuno Damião and Jorge Lopes Trigo